1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to devices for use primarily in the painting of window frames and particularly to a paint shield and guide which prevents paint from contacting and smearing unwanted portions of a surface, such as the window glass immediately adjacent the frame or other area being painted. More particularly, the invention relates to a paint guide which enables a predetermined strip of paint to remain on the window glass adjacent the frame to form a weather seal therebetween during painting of the window frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is desirable in painting the wooden frames of windows and doors to extend the paint outwardly a slight distance from the frame onto the adjacent portion of the glass to form a weather seal between the glass and frame, or between the glass and putty or sealing compound to prevent moisture which accumulates on the glass from seeping into the joint between the frame and glass, resulting in deterioration of the wood frame or sealing compound. Also, when painting other frame structures which may be made of metal or synthetic materials, such as plastic, vinyl or the like, it is desirable to provide a guide or shield to prevent the paint which is being applied to the frame from contacting and being smeared on the adjacent glass. A paint guide will facilitate the painting of a window frame by eliminating the tedious application of the paint to prevent smearing paint on the glass, as heretofore required, and by eliminating the use of outlining the glass with masking tape or other similar procedure to provide for a smooth strip of weatherproofing paint on the glass adjacent the frame.
Various paint guides or masking devices have been constructed to facilitate the painting of window or door frames, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 804,569, 1,386,706, 1,411,462, 2,098,005, 2,484,607, 2,517,220, 2,538,743, and 3,335,703, and in British Pat. Nos. 5,156, 683,776 and 911,553. Most of these devices require that the edge of the guide device be wiped after each application of paint to a particular frame section adjacent the paint guide, increasing considerably the difficulty and time required for each painting job. Many of these prior devices do not enable a weatherproofing strip of paint to be applied evenly and neatly on the window glass since the guide edge is abutted directly against the adjacent frame. Also, these devices may still smear the glass with paint if they are not removed properly after the painting operation has been completed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,703 discloses a device which is believed to be the closest device known to my paint guide construction. It shows a device which can be positioned a predetermined distance from a window frame to provide for a weatherproofing strip of paint and uses a movable paint guide edge. However, if this device is used for this purpose, it would be extremely difficult to properly position the paint guide edge at the same predetermined distance from the frame for each application to provide for a straight, uniform thickness strip of paint on the window, since there is no positive positioning means provided on this device. Also, rotational movement of the paint guide edge could contact the window frame, smearing the freshly applied paint.
Many of these problems have been eliminated by the paint guide shown in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,693. Although the paint guide shown in this patent has proven successful, my further improved paint guide disclosed below provides a simpler, less expensive, more easily manufactured, and more easily operated guide by replacing the U-shaped arms and operating link mechanism of my earlier guide with a simpler and more efficient cam and slot arrangement.